In 2013 my most popular article (by some distance) was the story of how my most successful image was plagiarised in a rather unusual way; a photographer had recreated the image from scratch. It seemed to me to be a bit of a grey area and I was unsure where I stood legally. The photographer hadn’t stolen my image and wasn’t selling his recreation, but he had stolen my idea and that is intellectual property theft. The problem was resolved rather quickly and painlessly in the end but in that regard, I was one of the lucky ones. It did, however, prompt me to write a comprehensive guide on the subject after I could only find very segmented information spread over several websites. I wanted the relevant information all in one place in an ordered fashion and as that wasn’t possible, I decided to create it myself.

This guide is in 3 major parts; prevention, detection and reaction. Firstly, how to prevent or deter plagiarism or theft of your images. Secondly, how to detect and identify any images or ideas that have been stolen – the internet is vast and finding your images where you hadn’t put them is a daunting task. Finally, the various ways in which you can react if you find one or more of your images or ideas have been stolen.

Having a nice backdrop for your product shots really add interest to your product. I still prefer keeping it simple by using my trusty Granite Tile and my DIY Wood Table but I wanted to see what other everyday items I can use for backdrops in my photography.

If there’s one thing that all of us have encountered at one point or another it is going through the frames from a shoot and realizing that we forgot something important or could have done things a little differently.

When I first read the title of this video my mind automatically went in a completely different direction (my mind has a mind of its own, don’t judge me). In this tutorial, Photoshop guru and rocker of the man bun Aaron Nace gives us step-by-step instructions for bringing on the “high beams” of a vehicle after the image has already been taken.

Usually, I prefer to get stuff in camera (even if it means light painting my subject). But sometimes Lighting or space limitations will make getting the picture in-camera hard or simply not worth the effort. When such situation strikes go for a composite. If you only have little gear, this technique will also help you get a more professional look in your images.

One of the biggest obstacles in street photography is the fear of capturing strangers. I mean, it makes sense. You are taking photos of people without asking them for their permission first. Although it is completely legal in a lot of countries, it still takes guts to pull it off.

Jack Canfield once said: “Everything you want is on the other side of fear.” It’s so true, because once you overcome your fear, a whole new world opens up for you. Incredible Moments and subjects that would’ve never ended up in your portfolio before.

Some believe that smartphones will never replace “real cameras” like DSLRs or mirrorless cameras. This article is about providing evidence to the contrary and about making some amazing images with limited equipment. Here’s my account on shooting some of my first images of the Milky Way with nothing but a smartphone and a tripod.

We all love the dark demon eyes looking back at us from a picture or movie. It just tells you that that model you’re looking at will devour your soul, damning it to hell for all eternity.

And here’s how you can turn your models into soul-hunting demons and have them look cool at the same time. It’s a subtle trick but it will give great impact to your image.

If you are lucky to have a good concept you’ll probably make sure you have some black sclera lenses for your model to put in. But if you don’t have them there’s an easy way to get the effect in photoshop as well.

In the video below I’ll walk you through the steps to create such dark eyes.

Many of the tools inside of Photoshop use various color models and techniques to alter color. If you are not familiar with them you might be creating a lot of trouble for yourself.

A lot of retouching tutorials online will teach you to use a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer with -100 saturation to remove the color information from an image (this should eliminate color distractions when Dodging and burning). If you are following this advice, then you are working with Lightness in the HSL color model, which is very different from how our eyes perceive color…

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Allen Mowery is a commercial and lifestyle photographer, pseudo-philosopher, and wannabe documentarian killing time amidst the rolling hills of Central Pennsylvania. When not shooting client work or chasing overgrown wildlife from his yard, he loves to capture the stories of the people and culture around him. You can check out his work on his website or follow along on Facebook, Twitter (@allenmowery), and 500px.

JP Danko is a commercial photographer based in Toronto, Canada. JP
can change a lens mid-rappel, swap a memory card while treading water, or use a camel as a light stand.

Stefan Kohler is a conceptual photographer, specialized in mixing science, technology and photography. He is one of the founders of Kamerakind, based in Traunstein, Southern Germany. You can follow him on Facebook or on 500px.com

Tiffany Mueller is a photographer based in Hawi, Hawaii. You can follow her Twitter here and her personal life here.

Liron Samuels is a wildlife and commercial photographer based in Israel.

When he isn't waking up at 4am to take photos of nature, he stays awake until 4am taking photos of the night skies or time lapses.

Laya Gerlock is a Portrait and Product photographer based in the Philippines. His passion is teaching and sharing his knowledge in Photograpy and has been doing this for 6 years. You can follow his work on his web page, follow him on Flickr and if you happen to come by Cubao, Quezon City (To Manila, Philippines) he gives a great workshop!